Deeper Dive
God of Hope
“Many of us set out expecting to shape our lives by our own strength and determination or were driven by the will of expectations put upon us by our circle of influencers. Then we came up short on the fulfillment. Whether education, opportunity, family, experience or other resources left us short of the goal.
God has a different ‘program’ for your fulfillment. Not focused on excellence or accomplishment but rather on simply living complete. Not measured against others but within the abilities and personality He created within you. Being Content with life fulfilling His desires placed within you and experiencing the satisfaction of not being ‘compared’ to anything else. And having Him as your source of Hope, that you will be able as He provides the opportunity and enabling to live in His desires just for you.
Yes, you can be fulfilled in Him. And content. And satisfied. When you are in agreement with His desires for you.”
Hope. One of the largest four-letter words in English yet so often not defined better than wishful thinking. Really? Shouldn’t our hope be in something more focused than wishes?
Peter, a disciple with the pedigree of a simple fisherman and who frequented the foot-in-mouth motif, said that we needed clarity in our hope:
“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect.”1
Have you ever seen someone try to explain why they held a certain position and they devolved into anger due to the inadequacies of their reasoning for that position? Peter is encouraging us to understand with clarity this “hope” thing well enough that we can explain it without being perturbed, to be clear but gentle.
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”2
God cares enough to give you something, no Someone, concrete to believe in — Jesus is not ephemeral, a phantom, state of thought or some wisp of dream but the true God who willingly took the form of man to live the Example Life that God makes possible for us who at least once rebelled against Him. Jesus lived Real, died Real, rose again Real because He lived without sinning and then took the cost of our sin upon Himself to satisfy His own requirements that the price be paid for sin.
Is your relationship with God real or do you doubt its reality? Is it like standing at a bus stop wondering if the bus will be on time? The psalmist wrote, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.”3
FOOTNOTES:
1 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/1pe/3/15/t_conc_1154015
2 Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/heb/11/1/t_conc_1144001
3 Psalm 39:7 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/psa/39/7/s_517007